Journal of Plant Physiology 167 (2010) 1052–1060 Contents lists available at ScienceDirect Journal of Plant Physiology journal homepage: www.elsevier.de/jplph Photosynthesis and photoprotection in coffee leaves is affected by nitrogen and light availabilities in winter conditions Marcelo F. Pompelli 1 , Samuel C.V. Martins, Werner C. Antunes, Agnaldo R.M. Chaves, Fábio M. DaMatta ∗ Departamento de Biologia Vegetal, Universidade Federal de Vic ¸ osa, 36570-000 Vic ¸ osa, MG, Brazil article info Article history: Received 15 December 2009 Received in revised form 4 March 2010 Accepted 4 March 2010 Keywords: Antioxidant enzymes Coffea Oxidative stress Photoinhibition Xanthophyll cycle abstract Coffee is native to shady environments but often grows better and produces higher yields without shade, though at the expense of high fertilization inputs, particularly nitrogen (N). Potted plants were grown under full sunlight and shade (50%) conditions and were fertilized with nutrient solutions containing either 0 or 23 mM N. Measurements were made in southeastern Brazil during winter conditions, when relatively low night temperatures and high diurnal insolation are common. Overall, the net carbon assim- ilation rate was quite low, which was associated with diffusive, rather than biochemical, constraints. N deficiency led to decreases in the concentrations of chlorophylls (Chl) and total carotenoids as well as in the Chl/N ratio. These conditions also led to qualitative changes in the carotenoid composition, e.g., increased antheraxanthin (A) and zeaxanthin (Z) pools on a Chl basis, particularly at high light, which was linked to increased thermal dissipation of absorbed light. The variable-to-maximum fluorescence ratio at predawn decreased with increasing A + Z pools and decreased linearly with decreasing N. We showed that this ratio was inadequate for assessing photoinhibition under N limitation. Expressed per unit mass, the activities of superoxide dismutase and glutathione reductase were not altered with the treatments. In contrast, ascorbate peroxidase activity was lower in low N plants, particularly under shade, whereas catalase activity was lower in shaded plants than in sun-grown plants, regardless of the N level. Glutamine synthetase activity was greater in sun-grown plants than in shaded individuals at a given N level and decreased with decreasing N application. Our results suggest that the photoprotective and antioxidant capacity per amount of photons absorbed was up-regulated by a low N supply; nevertheless, this capac- ity, regardless of the light conditions, was not enough to prevent oxidative damage, as judged from the increases in the H 2 O 2 and malondialdehyde concentrations and electrolyte leakage. We demonstrated that N fertilization could adequately protect the coffee plants against photodamage independently of the anticipated positive effects of N on the photosynthetic capacity. © 2010 Elsevier GmbH. All rights reserved. Abbreviations: A, antheraxanthin; APX, ascorbate peroxidase; Car, carotenoid; CAT, catalase; Chl, chlorophyll; C i /Ca, internal-to-ambient CO2 concentration ratio; D, fraction of the absorbed PAR dissipated as heat; DEPS, de-epoxidation state of the xanthophyll cycle; DW, dry weight; F0, initial Chl fluorescence; Fm, maximum Chl fluorescence; Fv/F0, variable-to-initial Chl fluorescence; Fv/Fm, variable-to- maximum Chl fluorescence; FW, fresh weight; GR, glutathione reductase; gs , stomatal conductance; GS, glutamine synthetase; HL, high light; HN, high nitro- gen; LL, low light; LN, low nitrogen; MDA, malondialdehyde; N, nitrogen; P, fraction of the absorbed PAR used in photochemistry; PAR, photosynthetically active radia- tion; PE, fraction of the absorbed PAR neither used in photochemistry nor dissipated thermally; PN, net carbon assimilation rate; PS, photosystem; ROS, reactive oxy- gen species; SOD, superoxide dismutase; V, violaxanthin; Z, zeaxanthin; -GH, -glutamyl-hydroxamate. ∗ Corresponding author. Tel.: +55 31 3899 1291; fax: +55 31 3899 2580. E-mail address: fdamatta@ufv.br (F.M. DaMatta). 1 Present address: Departamento de Botânica, Universidade Federal de Pernam- buco, 50670-901 Recife, PE, Brazil. Introduction Leaves cannot utilize all of the photosynthetically active radiation (PAR) absorbed during exposure to full sunlight for photo- synthesis, resulting in what is often described as excess excitation energy (Müller et al., 2001). To protect against this excess energy, plants can avoid light absorption, e.g., through low chlorophyll (Chl) contents and steep inclinations to and large reflectance of incident radiation (Adams et al., 2004). Nonetheless, if excess excitation energy arises, it can potentially lead to the production of reactive oxygen species (ROS) that can oxidize pigments and proteins of the photosynthetic machinery, particularly the D1 protein subunit of the photosystem (PS) II reaction center (Asada, 1999). To avoid photooxidative damage, plants possess complex photoprotective mechanisms. One key mechanism involves the dissipation of excess absorbed light as heat in the antenna pigment complexes of PSII. This process is related to the xanthophyll cycle, in which violax- anthin (V) is de-epoxidated to antheraxanthin (A) and zeaxanthin (Z). The de-epoxidation state (DEPS) of this cycle safely dissipates 0176-1617/$ – see front matter © 2010 Elsevier GmbH. All rights reserved. doi:10.1016/j.jplph.2010.03.001